


The Dawn of the Dark Queen

by freshbluepickleexpert



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-22
Updated: 2020-05-02
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:48:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23792614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/freshbluepickleexpert/pseuds/freshbluepickleexpert
Summary: AU where Anakin isn’t the evil oneBasically Anakin isnt as swayed to the dark side as he usually is, so Palpatine goes to his back up plan in the form of a pregnant Senator. Meanwhile, Ahsoka and Rex navigate Order 66 :)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 8





	1. Do Siths Dream of Killing Younglings?

The year is 19 BBY. Palpatine is pulling the strings behind the Clone Wars, carefully placing the Jedi in their positions for the Clones to shoot them down. Everything is going according to plan; he is the Senate. And yet his to-be apprentice, Skywalker, seems to be dwindling. 

Palpatine crafted Anakin Skywalker from the ground up — he influenced the force in a way that no one else could, sought out the most force sensitive nobody that no one would care about, or ask too many questions if she became pregnant out of no where, and began conducting the strongest force wielder, his new apprentice, the Chosen One.

He planted seeds of darkness in the boy as he grew, and pulled him into the direction of the dark side. It didn’t all go to plan; he was meant to order Shmi’s death himself, sending a group of Tusken Raiders to kidnap her, torture her to the brink of death, and remind Anakin that he could return to Tatooine to see his mother, only to witness her demise. That was the plan.

He didn’t count on Shmi’s force sensitivity backfiring on him; that was the weakness of the Sith, their overconfidence. He didn’t get much out of the Raider’s incoherent babbling before he put an end to all of them. Shmi ended up on Tatooine as Anakin arrived, unharmed but shaken, but fine. Not dead.

That was meant to be the push. Then he would work on his fears of Padme dying, show him how the Sith can heal through the force. But Shmi had other plans.

Instead of being dead, she got to be an active mother in his life with her new husband and stepson. They sold their moisture farm on Tatooine and trailed their sad faces onto Corsuscant, where they now live happily on the upper level, having tea with Anakin and Padme on days off and visiting him in the Jedi Temple like good parents. Anakin even began to see Owen Lars as a brother.

But it isn’t over yet, Palpatine reminded himself. He always had a second plan. Just in case. The beautiful Padme Amidala, former Queen, now Senator. Padme being the one to help bring Anakin back to the Temple was a cruel, yet fortunate, twist of fate. 

He began to push them together, mentioning her to him, mentioning him to her. He became Padme’s mentor as she developed her skills as a Senator. She had fire, and, with some training, could wield a lightsaber well. There may be no need for one, in fact, her force sensitivity seemed to be strong, as she influenced others to listen and like her through it.

Shmi may refuse to die, but he was the puppet master. He had two likely apprentices. He is winning the war, not the Republic or the Separatists. It is his Empire he is forging, not the Jedi’s.

Everything is falling into place. He will be kidnapped by General Grievous, who will be following his orders. He will be rescued by Anakin. He will become his apprentice. If not, he’ll go after his pregnant wife. He will get his apprentice. He just has to wait.

————————————————————

Anakin feels a strange sort of betrayal after telling Mace Windu about Palpatine’s Sith identity. He knows it’s the good thing to do. Other Jedi would have done it.

But Palpatine has been so kind to him, so understanding. But he’s a Sith. He is the enemy, not the Jedi, not the Separatists. Him.

He says as much to Owen, who was visiting the Temple on Shmi’s behalf to make sure Anakin is unharmed. Palpatine is bad. But it’s like he doesn’t truly believe it, like Palpatine’s trust and benevolence and how he succeeded where the Order failed isn’t a lie. But it was. It is. It was all a lie.

Owen leans against a table, crossing his arms. He’s much calmer than Anakin, much more of a logical and rational thinker. Padme reckons he has an eye of politics. He’s only a few years younger than him and yet taller; fair headed, but the same blue eyes. When he speaks he sounds like he carefully planned what he’s going to say.

“I don’t doubt that Palpatine did use you. But I don’t think that that’s entirely your fault, I mean, the entire Order was fooled by him. You’re not the only one,” Owen points out. “You did the right thing, and that’s what counts. The Jedi will take care of it.”

“Right.” Anakin shifts his eyes to the floor, mulling this over. He did do the right thing. And he is going to return with Owen, away from the Order, to his mother and his stepfather. He isn’t going to go back for Palpatine. 

————————————————————

Padme was confused, and she needed advice. She was stranded on Coruscant with all the fighting going on, this was the peak of the war, after all. After this, it will tip in the favour of one side, or so Anakin told her. 

So she was alone, needing advice, and slightly panicking. She liked to say she was level headed, but when she didn’t know what to do, she wasn’t the most rational person. The only parental figure — the only person she was close to that she knew she could talk to was Palpatine. And so she fled to him, racing through corridors, a hand on stomach, her hair free around her.

It is just unfortunate that she happens to come across him, crumpled on the floor, appearing a helpless old man, crying out for help defensively from a Jedi, who has him backed up against the wall, purple lightsaber in hand.

She recognises him, Mace Windu. Her hair whips at her face, the wind from the broken window lashing at her. Her eyes are wild, and scared, and confused.

“What are you doing?” She yells, clutching her stomach more possessively, as if this Jedi would snatch her unborn child from her, threaten it like he did the Chancellor. She edges towards him, holding her other hand out to Palpatine, almost longingly.

“Senator Amidala, please step back, Chancellor Palpatine is being arrested on suspicion of being a Sith.” Mace commands, his face unchanging, his lightsaber threatening.

“A Sith?” Padme bursts out, and even laughs at the suggestion. “The Chancellor is on the Republic’s side!”

“You must see past his deception and allow me to do what needs to be done.” Mace turns back to Palpatine, and the purple gets too close to the old man, and Padme feels a sympathy to Palpatine, at the mercy of the Jedi. 

He is going to kill him, she realises with dread. She can’t allow that to happen. She can’t allow him to kill my children. Her thoughts grow more distorted by the second, the closer she gets to Palpatine, the more clouded she becomes.

“Senator, step back.” Mace repeats, this time serious. His lightsaber retreats, and then points at Padme herself. “Or else I will be forced to arrest you too.”

“How dare you?” Padme screams, an edge to her voice she’s never heard before. Rage courses through her, and she feels her eyes change.

Palpatine sees his chance, and moves his hands forwards, as if he is casting a spell. And there the electric sparks come out, mesmerising, directed at Mace’s face.

The Jedi acts fast, and Padme found herself adding unfortunately on the end of that thought. He whips his lightsaber to the threat, and deflects it back to Palpatine’s one face.

“This is what the Jedi have come to!” Palpatine struggles, his face burning and scarring. “Destroying innocents!”

“Don’t listen to him, Padme.” 

“He is a traitor! They are all traitors!”

Padme’s breathing becomes heavy as she glances back and forth. Something about Palpatine’s face made her heart ache. Her mentor, teacher, father figure, being murdered like a Separatist. “This is treason, Jedi,” she finds herself saying, and puts a hand to her head. A headache has formed.

“Padme...” the Jedi says warningly, inching closer to Palpatine.

“I can’t hold it any longer — I am... I am.. weak...” Palpatine’s hands fall to his sides, as he murmurs looking to the ceiling. The Jedi retracts his lightsaber and holds it like he’s going to execute him.

“No— you’ll kill him!” Padme pleads, tears steaming down her face.

“I am going to end this, once and for all.” The Jedi stands with such justice, like he knows everything, right from wrong.

“But — he must stand trial!”

“He has the control of the Senate and the Courts. He’s too dangerous to be left alive.”

“Don’t... kill me... please...”

“It’s not the Jedi way!” Padme speaks without thinking, almost acting on a new sort of instinct. “He must live.”

The Jedi doesn’t reply, instead raising the lightsaber with a sense of finality.

“I need him!” Padme cries out desperately, but he pays no attention. The Jedi cuts downwards, and would have severed Palpatine in half.

If Padme hadn’t have reached forward, pushing against some sort of wall, until it crumbles beneath her, and some sort of strength protrudes from her and knocks the Jedi backwards, his lightsaber flying out of his hand — and into hers. In one swift movement, she cuts the Jedi’s wrist clean off.

Regret starts to sweep in and her eyes widen as she realises what she’s done. Instead of dropping it, she clings to the lightsaber, bringing it close to her as Palpatine seizes the moment to send Mace Windu falling to his death.

Now it’s her turn to crumple to the floor. She just helped the Chancellor kill a Jedi. Her husband’s people. With that thought she throws up her last meal onto the floor, retching horrendously.

“There, there, my dear,” Palpatine comforts her, placing his hand on her back, smiling. 

“What have I done?” She asks, sobbing. “What have I done?”

“You’re fulfilling you’re destiny, Padme. Every choice, every moment of your life, has come to this.”

“I’m not... I’m not...” Padme buries her face into her hands.

“You don’t know who you are. A few hours ago, the Senator Padme Amidala. And now? A Jedi murderer.” Palpatine removes his hand, and positions himself in front of her. “You can’t go back the Republic now. What would your husband say? You killed one of his colleagues.”

Padme nods, her tears coming to a halt. 

“You can’t go to anyone now. Except — me. I have always been here for you when the others aren’t. I’m here for you now. I understand what you’ve done.” He pauses. “Become my apprentice, Padme. Learn the ways of the dark side. It’s too late to go back now. Forward is the only way you can look.”

“I...” Padme looks at him. “I will do whatever you ask. Just make sure Anakin is safe. I can’t live without him. And my children... you need to protect my children...”

Palpatine nods. “If we work together, we can discover the secrets of the dark side, and unlock the power of healing.”

“I pledge myself to your teachings.”

“Good... good. The force is strong with you. A powerful Sith you will become. Henceforth, you will be known as... Darth Mitera.”

————————————————————

She thought leaving the Order was the most difficult thing she had ever done. But facing the clones as they fire against her — their commander, their friend — instead of the enemy... that takes the cake.

She’s exhausted. She has spent so, so many days — how long has it been? — trying to wipe out Maul’s endless forces, trying to get to the centre of Mandalore. Then everything changed, and no one is the same, but she still has Rex, she still has Rex, she reminds herself constantly.

The two, clone and Jedi, have made their way out of the crossfire. They know what needs to be done, but they don’t want to do it. They have to stage their own deaths. Ahsoka looks down at her two blue lightsabers. She only just got them back from Anakin. She barely has the energy to lift them, with their strange weight, from her belt and onto the ground.

Rex watches as she buries them neatly, leaving a mark in the soil. Anyone could tell; a Jedi was buried here. Now for his turn. He strips himself of his armour, and begins the horrifying task of doing the same to another clone, a dead body, a corpse. Ahsoka tries not to remember that fact but it gets stuck in her head. Jesse, his name was. Is.

They dress him gently, and start to dig the hole a distance away from Ahsoka’s grave. They work silently, but shakily, and they stop when Ahsoka’s breaths become fast paced and short.

“Go sit down,” Rex tells her. “I’ll finish it.”

Ahsoka doesn’t want to. But she’s been fighting nonstop. She’s seen the death of her troops. She knows he’s probably had it worse, the betrayal of his brothers, but she leaps at the chance to rest. 

“Do you think Anakin’s okay?” She barely whispers, wiping away tears. 

“He’s too strong not to be, com—“ Rex cuts himself off as he lowers the body into the grave. “Ahsoka.”

Once their graves are ready, they take a look at each other, and then the sun, which took the opportunity to set. 

“Everything is changing.”


	2. The Betrayal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anakin and Owen return to the Jedi Temple, only to find a weird lack of Jedi. Meanwhile, Ahsoka debates what to do next.

Being at his mother’s house felt wrong to Anakin. The Jedi would have apprehended Palpatine and put him on trial by now, and the war would have reached its peak, and he’s sat at home, eating breakfast.

They’ve heard terrible things. His stepfather had been told that something happened to the clones that made them turn against the Jedi, but Anakin knows this is wrong. Loyalty meant everything to the clones.

“Still, just in case, Owen will go back with you to the Temple,” Shmi presses while rolling pieces of food into a cloth. The one thing Anakin missed at the Temple was his mother’s cooking, so why miss it? 

“I’ve been gone for one night, mother,” Anakin reminds her. “The clones can’t have betrayed us in one night.”

Shmi gives him a pointed look which meant he’s going with you anyway, and they continue to their silence with occasional glances from Shmi. He catches her at it, and pulls a face. “What?”

“I can tell you’re hiding something big from me,” she replies, standing up from her chair. “You forget I can sense things too.”

Anakin considers the pros and cons of telling his mother his wife is pregnant, especially since he had only just found out himself and he’s still processing the news. He’s scared to say the least. But if he’s called out to fight one last fight, and anything happens, his mother should know.

“You might want to sit down again, then.” She did so. “Padme’s pregnant.”

Her reaction to their marriage was similar, the disbelief, the gigantic smile, the hugs and kisses. He struggles with feeling intense emotions, ones that wash away everything else, but when he felt this happiness, he’s glad for it. His worries and fears seem to disappear under the arms of his mother.

————————————————————

Somewhere in space, Ahsoka sat in the ship she had stolen from Mandalore, staring blankly at the planet before her. 

She felt wrong. Her belt isn’t weighed down by her lightsabers, she isn’t with her troops and she doesn’t even know if it’s safe to go to Coruscant. 

It must be morning, she figures. She remembers watching the sun coming up as a child, when she was woken up early by the Masters and she snuck away for a few seconds to see the sunrise. Sometimes with friends, often alone. She had such high hopes back then.

The safe option would be to leave and go to some distant planet until she knew what’s going on, but that would be neglecting Anakin and all the Jedi below. Are they all dead? 

“Let’s not think about that,” she says to herself, rubbing her eyes tiredly. She tries again to contact the Temple, but no response.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” she then murmurs as she glances again to Coruscant. She thought of the people down there, of the younglings she had taught, of her friends, of the Jedi, Anakin, Obi Wan, Plo Koon. What would Anakin do? 

That’s easy, he would go down to the planet. He’s probably on Coruscant now, getting to the bottom of this. That’s why she should go and help.

What about the civilians, like Trace and Rafa? Are they hiding in their homes, wondering what changed and when this will be over? Do they even notice? Are they safe?

She frowns. Enough debating. Anakin would see that there’s people in danger, and he would act. 

So that’s what she does. Ahsoka directs the ship at full force towards Coruscant, and even grins. I’m coming home, she says to herself. Don’t worry Anakin, I’m coming.

————————————————————

“I can’t get in touch with Mace,” Anakin frowns, flicking his communicator as he walks by Owen. 

“Probably busy,” Owen shrugs.

He’s right, Anakin tells himself. Stop worrying over nothing.

“So do you plan on keeping your kids a secret from the Order or...?” Owen asks amusedly. 

Anakin puts his communicator away and touches a hand to his lightsaber. “I think I’ll leave. I’m not ready to. But I’m not going to pass up this opportunity to have a family with Padme.”

Owen nods. “I think you’re doing the right thing. They wouldn’t even make you a Knight, screw them.”

“Right.”

“You can be a politician like Padme. Could you imagine? It’d be a catastrophe.”

“It can’t be that hard! All Padme does is talk to people and make loud speeches!” Anakin protests, laughing between words.

“Don’t let her hear that.”

They laugh for a second, and Anakin tries to relish this moment, as he always does with his family, as if it won’t last. 

The walk isn’t long, and they arrive at the entrance shortly. Anakin always stops to marvel at it, as if he hadn’t lived there since he was young. But somethings different this time, it’s too quiet. 

It had been quiet for a few days, as the Jedi were stretched thin across planets. But this is a more deadly quiet, like a storm is coming.

“Maybe I should go first,” Anakin says, his eyes constantly scanning their surroundings. 

“Why?”

There isn’t a Jedi in sight, he realises as they walk through the halls. All the Padawans and younglings and older Jedi that look after them — where are they? 

“It’s too quiet.” He says to Owen, who shrugs in return. 

“Aren’t the Jedi all off world?”

Anakin pays this no attention, and turns his head towards the upper level of one of the towers, where he senses the younglings. He could sense them sitting in the council room, hiding from something. What could they be hiding from?

“Maybe the clones did turn on the Jedi.” A nervous flicker has crawled into Owen’s voice as he walks towards his stepbrother. “There can’t have been many Jedi left behind so they would’ve been easy to...”

Anakin shakes his head. He doesn’t want to think about that. He needs to find the children and find out what happened. Without a word, he leaves the room they were standing, and races up the stairs despite Owen’s shouts.

He flies through the twists and turns of the halls, his mind on one thing. He didn’t get far when Owen snatches his wrist, pulling him into a violet halt.

“What?” Anakin snaps, turning to face him.

“The clones,” he replies, pointing shakily to the direction they had come from. Sure enough, familiar voices are echoing throughout the halls, with orders to kill the Jedi.

“The children,” Anakin whispers, his eyes wide. “They’ve come for the children.”

This time Owen is the one to act, turning Anakin back around. “Where are they?” He asks, struggling to keep his panicked voice down.

He leads the way, clutching his lightsaber. He feels numb, like the betrayal that he was convinced was fake has stopped him in his tracks. Why would they...?

As he gets closer, he feels their fear more and more. He slows, keeping Owen behind him, just in case.

As he pushes the door open, a dozen or so younglings stare back at him, their stupid helmets hanging over their faces. They’re huddled together, and it broke his heart.

“Are you okay?” Anakin demands, rushing over to them.

“Master Skywalker, we’re surrounded, what do we do?” One brave youngling, who he recognises as Sors, asks. 

Anakin leans down, placing a hand on his shoulder. “We are going to get out of here and to safety. I will protect you,” he looks to the others. “I promise.”

They nod apprehensively, holding each other’s arms. Anakin feels how they feel, their emotions washing on to him; they don’t know who to trust, and they can only trust each other.

He closes his eyes for second, and suddenly he is a General again, commanding his troops and winning the battle at the last minute. 

“We’ll leave from the back of the Temple,” Anakin begins, and gives out short and fast orders. “Oh and Sors, you’re in charge,” he adds at the end. Sors grins, and he grins back.

“I’ll hold them off while you get the children out of here,” Anakin says to Owen, putting a hand on his shoulder like he did with Sors. “I know you’re scared, but so are they, and they need to think you know what you’re doing.”

He nods. “Mum will be proud.”

Anakin just smiles, and wishes them luck before leaving. This is where the fun begins.

————————————————————

The ship’s door opens through the smoke, and Ahsoka emerges, coughing heavily. She hadn’t expected to meet enemy forces trying to prevent her from getting to Coruscant, and she had crash landed trying to escape.

She pulls a cloak she had found over her head, covering her face slightly. She needs to keep up the pretence that she’s dead, she keeps telling herself as she stalks across Coruscant. She’s near Anakin’s family’s house, she realises suddenly. Where is everyone?

Her aim is to go straight to the Jedi Temple to find Anakin, but it makes sense for her to check on his family, she reasons with herself. He could be there for all she knows. But she does know that he’ll be right in the heart of the action.

She quickens her pace as she nears the house, becoming more and more aware of the silence that surrounds her.Her walk turns into a jog as a feeling of urgency creeps up on her, one she can’t shake.

When she gets to the house she had been sprinting, and she almost pounds on the door, breathing heavily.

No reply. She knocks this time, a little more civilised. She could hear Obi Wan say that in her head and smiles slightly.

It didn’t take long for her to realise that the door has been blasted, and the lock is completely wrecked. With a small push, the door creaks open. 

“Hello? Is anyone here?” Ahsoka calls out, scanning the room. “Shmi?”

The chairs in the kitchen are knocked over, a clear scene of struggle laying before her. Was it the clones? Why would they be concerned with Anakin’s family? Was it Darth Sidious?

The words of Darth Maul replay in her heard, ones that taunted her about the dark side growing stronger than ever, a secret Sith controlling everyone and that last part. The part about Skywalker. Ahsoka could only assume he meant Anakin. Is that why his family are missing?

She yawns. She has to find Anakin and tell him that something happened. She draws her attention to a window facing the Temple, and walks over to it slightly apprehensively. Did she want to see what state it’s in?

The answer is no. It’s swarming with clones, so much so that some are spilling out of it. The Temple is overwhelmed, and the Jedi in it must be... wiped out. 

Ahsoka lets out a shaky breath. Anakin must be in there. Where else would he be? And who’s leading the troopers? What if it’s the Sith?

But she doesn’t have any weapons. She has to be sneaky about this, entering from the back and hiding from any clones until she finds someone. It’s not impossible, she tells herself. If there’s one thing Anakin taught her, it’s to rush in without a second thought.

————————————————————

There’s an abundance of clones, all wearing the familiar armour that Anakin knows so well. He commanded these men. He taught them and learnt from them, and now they’re trying to kill him.

He thought killing the first one would be the hardest part, but it gets worse everyone he has to defend himself. Each time he tries to reason with them, beg, ask who’s behind this, but each time they fire at him. Each time he draws his lightsaber to cut them down, he feels the pit in his stomach widening. 

He feels an irrepressible urge for times long gone now; for making witty comments by Obi Wan’s side, for turning mistakes into lessons for Ahsoka, for strategising with Rex. And with it, an irrepressible sadness.

But he has to keep going. He keeps Sors in his minds eye as he continues to hold the clones off; Sors, who’s fire reminded him so much of himself when he was younger. 

Fortunately or unfortunately, the clones start to dwindle, until no more round the corner to the door of the council room. Despite the lack of clones, Anakin feels a suffocating presence filling the corridor. He takes a deep breath, readying himself into a fighting stance, and focuses his eyes on that corner. Whoever it is that rounds it, he is ready for them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The pacing is slower here but! I wanted to establish Anakin and Owen’s brotherly bond and the betrayal Anakin feels when he realises that the clones have turned on the Jedi. Also Ahsoka is there, who is my all time favourite Star Wars character! Hope you enjoyed!


	3. A Confrontation and An Escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anakin faces someone he thought had been defeated, while Owen tries to escape the Temple and comes across an unexpected guest.

Hatred seethes through the walls, blackening Anakin’s senses. This is a feeling like no other, tinted with a hint of success. He knows who it is before he sees his face, cloaked, as usual, in a black robe. It looks paler, and melted like wax. Mace must’ve put up a good fight, he thought sadly.

“Palpatine,” Anakin says, readying his blue lightsaber. “I thought for a second Mace had finished you off.”

“I’m disappointed that you’re here, Anakin,” Palpatine replies, lifting the hood of his cloak with his boney fingers. “You were meant to join me, not try to fight me.”

The boldness of this statement makes Anakin want to laugh, with an edge of creeping hysteria. His old mentor and friend turns out to be a Sith Lord. No big deal.

“Try to? I think you’ll find I’ll be more than adept at putting an end to this,” Anakin dares, pointing his lightsaber at the Sith. “This tyranny goes no further.” 

At the back of his mind, he counts the seconds that have passed since Owen left. He must buy them time to flee.

“My plans go further than the Jedi. My plans stretch beyond the galaxy. I have the ultimate power, Anakin,” Palpatine gives him a grotesque smile. “I have the power.”

Anakin just shakes his head, taking a step forward. “Whatever you’re planning, forget it. The Council will—“ he falters, stumbling at his own words. The Council is no more. The Council won’t be able to solve this problem.

“They’ll do what? Struggle agains the clones? They’re dead, Anakin. They can’t save you now.” As he finishes his sentence, Palpatine raises a hand. Anakin can feel the buzz of electricity radiating through it, and he realises that what happened to Mace could be happening to him. He may never see Padme or Shmi or Owen again. The image of Sors looking up at him burns in his mind.

But the moment passes, and Palpatine lowers his hand, that smile back on his face. “Oh, but I have more surprises that I need you alive to see,” he hisses as the marching sound of clones approach.

“Surprises?” Anakin questions, deflecting a few blaster shots. “What are you talking about?” 

But Palpatine doesn’t respond, instead turning to where he came from. In the place of his former mentor and friend, is a terrifying Sith Lord that will stop at nothing. 

Anakin can’t help but feel guilty for allowing him to rise to this power without stopping it sooner. But he has a dozen or so clones shooting at him and he doesn’t have time to dwell on his feelings. So he pushes on.

————————————————————

It didn’t take long for Owen to realise that he has no idea where he’s going. To make matters worse, he’s leading a group of five younglings while hiding from clones in a Temple that he doesn’t know his way around.

He stops cautiously, and the children do the same, filing behind him. He turns to the eldest, Sors, and tries not to think about how absurd it is that he’s about to ask a child for directions.

“I need your help. Do you know the way out of here?” Owen asks, receiving an enthusiastic nod. “Okay. Can you tell me how to get there?”

Sors is too much like Anakin, with his smug expression and tone that suggests that he finds it funny that Owen didn’t know the way. With the thought of Anakin, he tries to push it away, but he can’t help feeling worried. 

The youngling gives a few directions, and despite Owen’s lack of knowledge of the Temple, he figures it can’t be too hard to navigate the halls. They let a few clones pass, wielding blasters, although most of them seem to have disappeared. Owen wonders if it’s to Anakin they’ve gone.

He’s never seen Anakin in action, but he’s heard about him. He was over confident, but he had good reason to be; he seems to have a unique relationship with swordsmanship and the Force. Lightsabers scare Owen beyond belief — suppose he puts one down forgetting to turn it off and it chops his leg on half? 

He continues, making sure to keep track on the younglings. He’s never actually been around children this much before, and he’s definitely in over his head. 

They stop at a corner, and a glance shows an open door. The back entrance. They’re literally seconds away from escaping. Owen closes his eyes for a second before Sors tugs at his sleeves. 

“Someone’s coming,” he whispers, his eyes wide. He must’ve felt something through the Force, Owen guesses.

“Right,” Owen rubs his forehead. This is going to age him a few years. “Stay here, I’ll go ahead.”

He doesn’t know what he’ll do when he comes face to face with a clone, or worse, multiple of them, with their blasters pointing towards him. He can only hope that the younglings can find their own way out.

He creeps along the hallway, holding his breath. He can at least go down fighting, he thinks as he grips his hands. 

Time seems to stand still as he approaches the door, tension filling the air. He lets out a shaking breath. There’s no going back now.

As he steps foot outside, his body collided with another and he stumbles backwards, clutching his now bleeding nose. He wipes his watering eyes, and before him is a blurry orange figure.

“Owen?” A familiar voice calls out, and Owen struggles to place it for a moment, until he remembers — Anakin’s Padawan.

“Ahsoka? Thank god.” He breathes a sigh of relief. “I have a bunch of younglings that I need to get out of here.”

“Well we’re in luck, ‘cause I saw a few freighters out back. There’s a blockade in the sky but I think you’d be able to get us past,” Ahsoka begins, glancing around the Temple suspiciously.

“Slow down,” Owen replies, rushing back to the younglings. “Come on, it’s okay, we have a friend to help us.”

Ahsoka smiles a little at the younglings, hoping to put them at ease. Then she remembers. “Is Anakin here?” She asks quietly, putting a hand on one of their shoulders as they escort them out.

“He’s holding off the clones,” Owen replies, and they both give a last look at the Temple. “He’ll be okay.”

They hadn’t spoken much, apart from the few times Ahsoka had eaten at the Lars family home. They both share a love for Anakin, and along with that, a worry. But other than that, he doesn’t know a lot about her, but she’s all he has right now.

Ahsoka leads the way to the freighters, but halts when they encounter a handful of clones guarding them. Without lightsabers, she realises she’ll have to think carefully about this.

“Get the younglings on a ship, I’ll distract them,” she tells Owen, not taking her eyes off of the clones. He just nods, and turns to the younglings, presumably to tell them what’s about to happen.

With a very loose idea of what she’s about to do, Ahsoka struts out of their hiding place, turning her nerves into confidence. 

The clones immediately turn to her, and point their blasters. Ahsoka holds up her hands in a surrender fashion, and instead holds the blasters still with the Force. She thrusts her hands down and the blasters fly out of their hands and clatter on the floor.

“You will... put your hands behind your heads and turn around, slowly,” Ahsoka says, reaching out to the Force to aid her. The clones do as she says, and Ahsoka glances towards the huddle hurrying towards the ship.

“Now you will put your hands over your eyes... and sit down.” 

Ahsoka bites down a laugh despite herself and puts her hands down while they follow her orders. A voice at the back of her head points out how she’s stripping away their free will, just like the chip has done.

Owen waves from the mouth of the ship, signalling that they’re on safely, and she takes another look at the helpless, obedient clones, and knows what she has to do.

She tries to take ahold of the clones armour and haul them to the ship, but she realises how heavy they are and decides to find a new approach. 

“What are you doing?” Owen asks, struggling to keep the panic from his voice. 

“They had no choice,” Ahsoka protests, her own voice wavering. “They had no choice. We can’t leave them here.”

“They tried to kill us—“

“They had no choice!” Ahsoka shouts, wiping furiously at her eyes. “The Sith made them. We can help them.”

Owen looks at her steadily, deciding what to do. He could leave her, he could go with the younglings. But what would Anakin say when he hears he left his Padawan behind? How would he cope knowing he left her behind? Could they really help them?

“Okay,” he finally says. “We’ll lift them to the ship one by one. But the moment we hear more coming—“

“Okay,” Ahsoka answers. 

There’s six of them. Ahsoka knows that they’ll probably not be able to save all of them, but they can try. They’re still in a trance from her messing with their heads, and this helps the clones lift them without restraint.

The third one snaps back to reality while they’re almost at the freighter, and immediately starts struggling. Owen pulls the front of his body towards him so he doesn’t see Ahsoka — and it seems to work. The trooper isn’t in a killing rage and is just confused. 

“What are you doin’? Let go of me!” The clone yells.

“I’m trying to help,” Owen reasons before they deposit the clone on the freighter. He apologies before hitting him across the head, knocking him out, as he had done with the other two.

They start to head back to the other clones before Ahsoka’s head turns towards the Temple.

“We won’t be able to get them, will we?” Owen asks calmly.

She just shakes her head, looking at them sorrowfully. “I just... want to save them all.”

“I know. But we’ve done what we can. Let’s get out of here.”

They huddle the clones in the corner, being careful not to wake them. As they stand back to admire their work, a voice scares them from behind.

“What’s going on?” Sors asks, looking fearfully at the unconscious clones. 

“Nothing, go back to the others,” Ahsoka says comfortingly, smiling genuinely. But he doesn’t budge.

“They tried to kill us—“

“They didn’t have a choice. We can help them,” Ahsoka tells him, crouching to his height. “I promise.”

He nods carefully, sniffing. Ahsoka couldn’t imagine leaving these younglings behind, defenceless, as their former brothers in arms turn against them and execute them. She sighs. 

As he retreats, Ahsoka looks to Owen. “What’s up?”

He’s looking to the Temple. There’s a distant march of troopers heading their way. A chill has begun in the air. 

“Anakin’s there, and... my parents.”

Ahsoka looks knowingly at him, crossing her arms. “Owen, I went to your house before I came here. It was empty. But... we’ve done all we can, remember? We have to go.”

It kills her to leave Anakin behind too, he knows this. But she knows that he’ll want them to get the younglings to safety, no matter what.

Owen looks at her. “Owen, you told me just now that we can’t save them all,” Ahsoka tries to reason with him, standing back up straight. “You need to listen to yourself.”

“I can’t leave my parents behind,” he explains, stepping back. “I’m sorry. Go with the younglings.”

“Owen—“

“You’re probably right. I’ve never been able to take my own advice. But family is everything. I can’t leave them behind.”

She says nothing for what seems like an eternity. “How am I supposed to do this alone?” 

“You won’t be. Knowing Anakin he won’t rest until he finds you. And assuming you know what to do with the clones, you’ll have them too.” He dares to smile. “I think I’ll see you again soon.”

Ahsoka sighs. “You’re too much like your stepbrother.”

“I guess it runs in the family.”

“Go find them, and make sure Anakin is okay.”

Owen nods before picking up one of the clones’ blaster. “I will. Be safe.”

“May the Force be with you,” she replies, watching as he leaves the freighter, and heads into the unknown, counting sheer luck. She lowers the ships’ doors as he disappears into the distance, feeling his heartbeat in the Force as the thunderous clones overtake him. Good luck, she tells him a last time before turning to face the clones. I’ll need it too.


End file.
